


The Mikazuki Curse

by mightymax



Category: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai | Haganai
Genre: Action, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Mystery, Original Character(s), Romance, Spirits, everyone's older
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 19:25:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10419537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightymax/pseuds/mightymax
Summary: Mikazuki Yozora is a detective whose entire family is under a curse. Her bad luck leads her to do things she'd rather not, or to hurt people with her words. But when she reunites with old friends, she learns that there may be a way to undo the curse. Will she finally get rid of it, or is she destined to mess up forever?





	1. Chapter 1

_Long ago, in the land of Japan, there lived a man named Mikazuki. He was a very kind and normal person who only wished for his village to be happy._

_On the third day of a famine, Mikazuki decided to seek out the spirit Okuninushi, in order to ask him for help. But Okuninushi had been killed by the spirit of curses, Akumasuke. Mikazuki knew nothing of this, and he ventured into the home of Okuninushi, which was a cave to the east of his town._

_He tried to negotiate with the spirit of curses, but he accidentally made him angry. Akumasuke was not known for his mercy, and so he punished Mikazuki by cursing his entire family._

_To this day, the Mikazuki family has been doomed to experience nothing but bad luck, despair, and sorrow._

* * *

In the Kamiya apartment building, apartment no. 2507, a single worn-out desk stood in the middle of a small room. The only source of light was a dimly lit candle, due to a blackout that had ensued at the time. Nevertheless, that small flicker of heat shone upon my excruciatingly maddening paperwork that I needed to fill out, blackout or not. I wiped the bangs of my short black hair out of my eyes as I poured all my concentration into completing the documents. In about as much time as it would take for a hyper child to fall asleep, I had finished my work.

The life of a detective means that I get to do this almost every week. It's rare for me to do an investigation, even though I've had lots of experience in the past. When it was my first year in the force, I stopped a serial killer from murdering the prime minister's daughter and wife. In my second year, I caught the leader of an illegal gambling ring.

It's my fifth year now. My name is Mikazuki Yozora, known to the world as either a genius or a loner. I'm twenty-four years old. Started my job when I was nineteen. My colleagues keep asking me questions about how I became part of the force at such a "tender" age. My reply? Told 'em it was none of their business.

The boss seems to respect me a lot. Respect is something I've been prone to losing, back when I was in high school. It was when I had opened this club. It's purpose was to help reunite myself with a childhood friend named Hasegawa Kodaka. Don't worry, I'll get to him in a bit. Just let me finish talking about the old days.

So anyways, we were supposed to be the only two members of the club. But then five other people joined. Their names were Shiguma Rika, Hasegawa Kobato, Kusunoki Yukimura, Takayama Maria, and Kashiwazaki Sena.

Kodaka was my childhood friend, back when we were seven. He thought I was a boy back then. I used to call him "Taka". He was always mistreated by people who didn't know him well because of his dirty blond hair, which he had inherited from his mother. He also has gray eyes and, unbeknownst to him, an angry expression whenever he's thinking. Despite all of this, Kodaka's actually a very soft-spoken and kind person who always had my back.

Rika is an eccentric perverted inventor who actually got my brain calls to stop working with her _ridiculously_ inappropriate comebacks. She was the only person who I listened to at times, because I knew that it was best to just shut up and obey her, unless I wanted to hear her talk about her new favourite BL novels and manga. She did come to my aid a few times.

Kobato is Kodaka's younger sister, and she's very, very close to him. So close in fact, that she gets jealous if anybody(besides me)even utters his name. She's was a huge fan of Gothic vampires, I think, and she even used to wear a single red contact lense over her blue eye. Kid was thirteen, but she was short. It's been seven years, so she must be twenty now. Wow. It's been long...

Ahem, sorry. Got a bit nostalgic there. Moving on.

Next is Yukimura. She's, um, definitely _noteworthy_. You see, she used to pretend she was a guy, but then we found out about her true gender. Used to be the club's maid. Things happened, and she completely lost all respect for me. I deserved it.

Maria was a ten-year old soon-to-be nun who was apparently some kind of child prodigy. She was pretty obnoxious. I mean, I like kids and animals, but I had to put my foot down for that kid.

Finally, there was Sena. She was this perfect rich girl who everybody admired and worshipped entirely. Sena had a very nice figure, and she was pretty popular with the boys. That's why most girls hated her. And she acted like an arrogant princess. I myself remember thinking of her as the perfect embodiment of "normal". Thinking back on it, she was anything but normal, with an addiction to those dating sims. Still, she was a very beautiful girl. I only recognized my feelings for her when I closed the club. By that time, she and I had lost contact with each other. If I were to guess, I'd say she's either engaged or married to Kodaka now.

I haven't seen any of my former clubmates for seven long years. In that time period, I've moved out of Mom's house(did that as soon as I could), became a detective(it looked fun, dammit), and got an apartment of my own in the Kamiya Buildings(not one of those shady motels).

I got up and went to the balcony to take a breather. The lights started to blink on and off as the wind hit my face.

 _Looks like the electricity's back_ , I thought.

The sun was rising. I'd been up since one a.m., sorting those credentials. I did take a nap for about half an hour, so I should be fine.

Suddenly, my ringtone went off. I answered the call.

"Mikazuki-san speaking," I said.

" **Mikazuki-san, this is Oda-san** ," said the voice on the other line. I immediately identified him as Oda Wataru, my boss. " **I was just looking through the new case files. They're about one or two days old, I'd say. We need you to take up one of the cases. As you are this district's sharpest mind, I'm sure you'll have no trouble solving one of these. Are you up for it?** "

"A hundred percent," I replied without hesitation. "I'd rather get my hands dirty while doing fieldwork than while using a leaky pen. What're the mysteries that need unraveling?"

I got ready while he was dictating to me, rolling down the sleeves of my white collar shirt, putting on my dark purple tie, black suit, straightening my pants and brushing my hair a bit.

" **The first case** ," he said. " **Involves a man who was killed by an unknown assassin. Second: A senior kidnapped by a yakuza gang. Third: Young former nun gone missing.** "

I blinked. "Tell me more about that third one."

" **Sure thing** ," he said. " **The nun's name is Takayama Maria, seventeen years old. She abandoned her occupation as a nun and was currently trying to apply for St. Chronica's Academy... same as you, eh? But back to the point. The kid left the church she was being raised in and she hasn't come back for three days. The nuns are asking for help now.** "

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For the first time in years, I've heard a fellow clubmate's name.

And that clubmate has run away from home.

"I'll look into it," I stated. "Sorry about the other cases. There any snoops on those ones?"

" **Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it** ," he reassured me. " **I'll send someone there. You focus on your task: Find Takayama. Call me when you're done**."

"Got it," I closed my phone. My prime question was why Maria ran away. Her sister Kate should've called the agency as soon as a day passed. But she waited for three days. And I need to find out why.

* * *

I arrived at the church at about eight thirty. The sun had decided to shine its rays of hell directly upon me. I blocked it out with my right hand and took a good minute to gaze upon the massive white building. The trees that surrounded that pathway were plentiful and abundant with leaves. The fountain's water sparkled like it was holy water. I could hear a few nuns inside as I knocked the door. Maybe one of 'em was Kate.

Ah, you don't know who Kate is, do you? I'd be surprised if you did. Means that you came here on Sundays to confess all your sins. People don't do that anymore.

Basically, Kate is Maria's older sister. She's one of the only people who didn't give a crap about that kid's intellect. Maria was a rude little snot, but I did care about her. Even if I did trick her most of the time.

I knocked on the wooden door twice, growling at that stupid ball o' fire in the sky that relentlessly attacked me. The door was opened by a woman. I'd say she was about nineteen. She had long black hair and green eyes. Her clothes were that of any nun's. She eyed me timidly.

"The church is closed, miss," she said.

"I'm not here to offer a prayer," I pulled out my badge and ID. "Detective Mikazuki Yozora, ready to assist you. Now, where's Sister Takayama Kate?"


	2. Sisters in Peril

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola, everyone, Rekord here(that's my nickname btw username is too long). I know a lot of people are always pairing Kodaka with Sena or Yozora with Kodaka, but I wanted to do something different.   
> Let's see how this turns out.

_Next to creating a life, the finest thing a man can do is save one._

_-Abraham Lincoln_

* * *

The nuns at the church eyed me suspiciously. One of 'em even asked me whether I was some young hooligan dressing up as a cop. If there's one thing people can't accept, it's the fact that some twenty year olds are capable of getting jobs.

The young green-eyed girl came over to me after speaking with the higher-ups.

"We'd like to extend our thanks to you," she bowed towards me. "For coming to our aid, Mikazuki-san."

"Thank me when this is all cleared up," I said. "Name and age, miss."

"I was adopted by the church, actually," she replied. "So I've no knowledge of my real name. The other sisters refer to me as Haruka. I turned twenty a few days ago."

"I see," I wrote down her profile in my notepad. "Sister Haruka, would you be so kind as to take me to Takayama Kate?"

She froze and began to bite her lip. Excusing herself, she went and whispered something to the one of the older nuns. I think I saw her before, back when we used to have a clubroom here. The two nuns came to me.

"You're that girl who used to come here," said the older nun. "Yes, I remember you well. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Sister Takayama is _dead_."

You know that sick feeling you get when you realize you stepped in dog crap while wearing your new shoes? No? Well, I'll tell you how it feels. Not good.

"How?" I asked. "When? Was she sick?"

"My, you're full of questions, aren't you?" the old lady chuckled dryly. "It happened a few days ago. Forensics sent us the autopsy just this morning. It seems that she was poisoned."

"And nobody knows who did it," I nodded. "How did Maria act after that?"

"Much to our surprise," answered Sister Haruka. "Her personality changed a bit. I don't mean to sound loathsome, but she was a bit rude. However, after her sister died, she became kinder. She started to give us presents every Sunday too, wishing us yet another successful week. Perhaps her applications to that school made her see the bright side of these dreadful events."

"Speaking of which," I interrupted. "Why is it that she was in our case file as a 'former' nun?"

"What do you think?" the other nun snapped at me. "She left the life of a nun because she wanted to live a normal life and fall in... love. Foolish, if you ask me. Men are complete idiots."

"I hear you, Sister," I agreed. "But men ain't the only ones she can fall in love with. Now then, putting that topic aside, can I get your name, ma'am?"

"Jiro Sonoko," was her reply. "Excuse me for a bit, Mikazuki-san. I must resume my previous activities."

She walked off, and I was left with Sister Haruka.

"Were you good friends with Maria?" I questioned her.

"I wouldn't say I was too close to her," she replied while fidgeting. "We were simply acquaintances."

"I see," I tapped my pen against my head. "Could you direct to the last place she was?"

"Certainly," she said. I followed her across the long hall. It was basically a trip down memory lane for me. I knew this route all too well. It was the way to the old clubroom.

"This is where Maria-san was just before she had disappeared," the green-eyed nun pointed towards the inside of the room where I used to spent much of my time in. I recognized the spot on the sofa that Maria had claimed as her own. A piece of paper sat there instead.

"What's this...?" I wondered out loud. The paper was wrinkled, and the handwriting on it was a bit smudged here and there, but I managed to make out the contents.

_Sis left us today. The doctors said that it was poison. What a bunch of liars. Onee-chan could never be killed like that._

_It must've been the demons in that damned forest that did her in. I'm not moving on with my life until I deal with them._

"Sister Haruka," I turned to her. "What does Maria mean by this?"

"I-I overheard her speaking to Sister Jiro," she scratched her head sheepishly. "She believes that the forest nearby is infested with negativity which therefore attracts lots of malicious spirits. I too believe this, but I don't think they'd leave the forest just to... to kill Kate."

The fact that she had used no honorifics had taken me by surprise for a second. "Is that how you usually addressed her?"

"Yes, when we were alone," the nun admitted. "Please don't tell Sister Jiro. She despises it when you call a sister by their first name. But Kate told me to... j-just for her..."

She broke into a sob, holding herself tight. And I wasn't exactly the type of person who knew how to deal with such strong emotions like these. You can only imagine how awkward I felt.

"Um," I adjusted my tie. "I asked you if you were close to Maria, but maybe the question I should've asked was... were you close to Kate?"

"I..." she continued to cry. "I _l-loved_ her... but the rules forbid such things..."

"What 'rules'?" I asked, since I was in no way a religious person.

"Nuns cannot marry," she looked at me with eyes full of pain. "I don't even think Kate loved me, anyways..."

I grabbed her arms so suddenly that she made a strange squeak.

"You're absolutely wrong," I said. "The only nun whom she allowed to call her 'Kate' was you. Even though Sister Jiro hated it, Kate didn't give a _damn_ about her thoughts. She only wished for there to be no formalities between you two. Why's that? Only because she wanted to be close to you, as close as the rules would let her be."

"...Thank you for trying to make me feel better, Mikazuki-san," Sister Haruka smiled weakly. "But the only thing that will grant me peace is finding Maria-san."

"I'll track her down," I assured her. "You don't worry about that. This letter is crucial to my investigation, because it tells us the sole location that Maria could have gone to."

"You're not planning on going to the forest, are you?" she gasped. "It's very dangerous! Nobody has ever come out of that vile area. You really mustn't go there."

"I got a friend down at the precinct," I walked with her to the main door of the church. "He always says, 'If you follow the examples of others, you're doomed to fail.' I don't give a crap about what the other people did. I'm going to be the one to survive."

I took a step out of the church, but Sister Haruka stopped me again.

"If you must go," she closed her eyes. "Then please accept this."

She gave me a black cross attached to a silver chain necklace.

"I'm not very-"

"I know," she cut me off while nodding. "You don't seem to be the religious type, Mikazuki-san. I'm giving this to you for protection. It's been blessed by more than fifty nuns, and Sister Jiro would never allow us to give it to someone such as yourself. But I want to, because you need it to guard yourself against the darkness of the forest. Please, bring Maria-san back. I will pray for your safe return."

"Thank you," I said. "Take care, Sister Haruka."

I left her there, and proceeded to enter the seemingly normal forest. Keeping in mind that this place was nothing but bad luck, I made the resolve to pinpoint Maria as soon as I could. Although, thinking about it now, there was no point in trying to avoid any misfortune. I'm basically a magnet for anything bad.

Moving quickly through the trees and calling out Maria's name occupied me so greatly that I didn't notice how the wildlife started to become black and rotten. The aroma had changed from tolerable to putrid. Every chirp, every peep... it all came to a sudden halt. I could sense that something was coming. And, sadly, it wasn't Santa.

A black moss of God knows what approached me. It was like evil itself manifested into a living organism. It had no definite shape, no eyes, no mouth... just long tentacles. It dragged itself towards me. Knowing that I was in a whole other world of trouble, I reached for my gun.

"The hell are you?!" I yelled in pure fright. I'm gonna be honest with you. I've never dealt with a breathing seaweed clump before.

" **...Yo...zora...** " it slurred, like it was drunk or something. " **...Heh... Shows herself... after seven years...** "

"... _Maria_...?!"

When something seems impossible, it's because you're looking through the eyes of a mature adult . This, however, was not the time to be mature. The creature didn't look anything like Maria. I didn't see her lavender white hair, or her blue eyes.

"You're lying!" I said. With a shaky hand, I shot it. I mean, I attempted to shoot it. The thing just absorbed the bullet.

" **That's no way... to treat a friend,** " it lurked nearer. " **...or maybe... I'm not your friend... the way you tricked me constantly...** "

"I-I was stupid and lost," I stuttered. "I'm sorry! There's a curse on my family and I always end up doing the wrong things. I didn't mean to hurt you at all!"

" **But you did...** " it growled at me. " **And now... you will suffer...!** "

Screaming as it swallowed me whole, I found myself plunged into eternal darkness.

* * *

"Yozora-senpai?"

My head was throbbing like crazy. I got up with a groan, trying to focus my eyesight at the figure sitting beside me. It was hazy at first, but then I could see exactly who she was.

"...Maria!"

I gave her a hug, just because it was a special occasion. I normally don't dish out cuddles. They're not my thing.

"I haven't seen you in so long," she grinned widely. "You're not planning on pulling my ear right now, right?"

"N-No," I looked down. "I'm sorry for everything I used to do."

"I know," said Maria. "I heard everything. Your family's jinxed, eh?"

"How did you hear me?" I asked. "And... wait..."

Taking in my gloomy surroundings for the fist time, I realized that we were floating on some black rock in the middle of an even blacker lake.

"Oh _shit_ , " I cursed. "Are we in the monster's stomach?"

"I'm afraid so," she sighed. "But all hope isn't lost yet. This rock we're on contains the souls of every poor being who was killed by this spirit, including Onee-chan. If we manage to get out, we need to break the rock in order to set 'em all free."

"How do we get out of this thing?" I scratched my head. "You ain't suggesting that we use the 'back door', are you?"

"Poop no!" she yelled. I was happy to hear that her innocent trait of using 'poop' as a curse word. "We're going to make him puke us out. We just need to find out how..."

As she sat down to think, I rubbed the cross that Sister Haruka gave me. It made me feel calmer somehow. At that moment, I remembered something else that used to calm me down.

"Tomo-chan," I whispered. "Please help us."

Upon uttering those words, a light shone from the cross. Maria and I looked at each other in surprise as a person appeared, a person I knew very well. She was a woman of average height who had black hair tied in a low ponytail and dark brown eyes. Her clothing consisted of a dark orange kimono. Her expression was the one she put on whenever I used to tell her about my problems, sweet and was always by my side, no matter how much I lost.

"Tomo-chan!" I smiled, which is something I haven't done in a while. "I never thought I'd see you again. Either my imagination station woke up, or I'm screwed."

"Sh-she's _real_?!" Maria gasped. "But you said she was your imaginary friend. How can I see her?"

"I'm not imaginary," Tomo-chan shook her head. "I'm also a spirit. Yozora-chan was able to see me because I let her. And now, I am allowing myself to be seen by you, Maria-chan. It's nice to meet you."

"You're a spirit?" My eyes widened. "W-Why did you choose become my friend?"

"Because the Mikazuki curse is my _father's_ doing," she clenched her fist. "Since he decided not to undo it, I made sure to help you avoid any bad luck. On the day that you became a detective, I realized that you didn't need me anymore, so I left. But it seems that my prediction turned out false. You need _loooots_ of help now. First things first, let's leave this dreary place."

She kicked a specific spot, and before we knew it, we were out.

"Did you get the rock?" I asked Maria as I flicked off the black substance on my hair.

"Yeah," she nodded hurriedly. "But I think we should be focusing on that right now!"

The creature was behind us, trying to get Tomo-chan. She narrowly avoided him, and she ran to me.

"Yozora-chan," she held my hand tight. "I need you to be my vessel!"

" _What?_ " I blinked.

"It won't hurt!" she assured me, even though I didn't ask. "My powers are amplified when a human like you is controlling them. You'll be in control of what you do, and I'll tell you exactly what to do. You just have to trust me!"

"...Eh. Why the hell not?" I shrugged. She then turned to Maria.

"Maria-chan," Tomo-chan gave her a hard stare. "We need you as well. You must offer up a Prayer of Possession."

"W-What?!" Maria almost dropped her rock. "Those are highly dangerous prayers and I'm not even a nun anymore-"

"The fate of your Onee-chan is depending on you," the brown-eyed spirit cut her off. "Are you really going to keep making excuses?"

"..." Maria looked down at her feet, and then at Tomo-chan again. "Okay. Don't blame me if something goes wrong though."

As the massive heap of evil was busy chasing us, Maria set her rock down and started to offer a prayer while clutching her cross. A warm feeling arose inside of me, and I became light-headed. Tomo-chan held my hand tight as we both became drawn to one another. Before I knew it, we had become one.

"Yozora-senpai!" Maria called me. "Your pupils are red!"

"That will happen whenever we do this," Tomo-chan's voice echoed in my head. "Repeat after me, Yozora-chan."

I obliged, and said: "Reaper, c'mon out!"

A huge scythe appeared in my hands. I swung it around with a sense of familiarity, even though the only weapon I have ever used in my life was a gun. The scythe, Reaper, glowed with a red aura.

"GRRAAR!" The beast lunged at me. I followed Tomo-chan's order to run at full speed towards it as well, despite my own mind telling me to run away from it. I jumped up to strike my enemy from above. Hit it right on its ugly head.

Reaper started to erupt with a crimson glow. I could feel my confidence rising quickly.

"It's weakened!" Tomo-chan said.

"Maria," I repeated after the spirit. "Offer up a Prayer of Punishment, and direct it towards my weapon!"

"Got it," she pumped her fist, then put her hands together and shut her eyes tight. She murmured something incoherent.

I felt so much power that I began to think some pretty negative thoughts. But I snapped myself out of it. Reaper was like an extension of me. Absorbing the energy from Maria's supplication made us both stronger. I broke into a sprint, charging into the dark spirit as fast as I could, and stabbing it in the place where a normal person's heart would've been. It roared out in pain, and collapsed, finally killed. Tomo-chan and I separated at last, Maria running to our side.

"The forest," Maria laughed. "It feels so much livelier now! With all the negativity gone, the only thing left is positivity. Can you believe that my prayers even worked? I'm not even a nun anymore!"

"All you need to know is the prayer," smiled Tomo-chan. "And the technique."

"Ah, I wanted to ask you something, Maria," I crossed my arms. "When did you become a nun, and why did you quit?"

"Well," the former nun cleared her throat. "I earned my occupation three years ago, when I had turned fourteen. One day, when I was sitting in the park, I saw a bunch of girls sitting together. They looked like they were having tons of fun, so I may or may not have listened to their conversation a bit. They were talking about a whole bunch of stuff that I never knew, like school drama and boys-that wasn't very interesting though-and then I saw this couple with their kids. They looked so happy with each other, and I realized that true happiness comes from having friends and a family. Being a nun, I didn't have many friends. And I only have Onee-chan in my family. Therefore, I wanted to experience those amazing feelings. You can't get married if you're a nun. So I quit. End of story."

"Wow," I said while processing all of that. "You could've just said, 'I quit because I want to have friends and fall in love', but you know what? That's fine."

"Ahem," Tomo-chan stared at me. "Have you forgotten about setting the good souls free?"

We walked over to the rock. Tomo-chan produced Reaper out of thin air and gave it to me.

"Reaper was meant to be yours," she said. "When you need it, it will come. And when you don't, it'll be resting in that chain necklace's cross. Now, use it."

I raised it high above my head, and swung it down, breaking the huge rock in half. A bunch of lights sprouted from it, probably going back to their owners. I could see the headlines: **_"Victims Of Cursed Forest Revived! Family Members Gone Crazy!"_**

"Let's go see if my Onee-chan is fine!" said Maria. "I convinced Sister Jiro to keep her somewhere safe for a few days. We have to hurry."

Before we left, Tomo-chan disappeared, saying that she'd come back if we ever needed her. After exchanging goodbyes, we proceeded to the church. Sister Haruka was waiting for us.

"Maria-san!" They hugged a bit.

"Come on, Haruka-senpai!" Maria's eyes gleamed in excitement. "We gotta go see Onee-chan!"

Leading the confused nun to the room that contained Kate, we kicked open the door, only to witness Sister Jiro trying to pour something into her mouth.

"What are you _doing_?!" Maria shouted at her.

"Making sure your sister never wakes up, obviously," scoffed the old hag. "Her soul has reentered her body. If she reveals why she went to the forest, I'd be in a bad situation, now, wouldn't I?"

I aimed my gun at her. "She's already done it... how lethal is that poison, you witch?"

"I'd say it'd take effect in about twenty minutes," she chuckled darkly. "By the time they get her to the hospital, it'll be too late."

"Why...?" Sister Haruka covered her mouth.

"She was leading you astray," answered the fiendish nun. "Her and her sister. Sister Takayama was trying to lead everyone away from their duties by having 'fun'. When I found out that she had even caused you to fall in love with her, I knew that it was time for me to take action. I told her that you'd gone to the forest. Love being her guide, she rushed to retrieve you, and she never returned. Even the nun who had already strayed was consumed by the darkness. It was two birds with one stone, but then you came."

She looked at me ferociously, only just noticing that I had my cellphone in hand.

"What?" I cocked my head. "You don't think I cared about your confession more than Kate's life, did you? Paramedics are on their way."

I stuck out my middle finger at her as Maria kicked her hard in the shins.

* * *

Soon after, the place was swarmed with cops and medics. Kate was muttering in her sleep as she was being taken to the nearest infirmary. I could see Sister Haruka laughing and crying at the same time as she stayed by Kate's side. Sister Jiro was shoved into the back of a police car. Maria gave me another hug, which I deeply resented. All was well.

I got a letter shortly afterwards about what happened. Kate was saved, and Haruka confessed to her. The two quit being nuns, moved into a nice place, and are now thinking about getting married. Sister Jiro was convicted and thrown into the slammer. As for Maria...

"I like this place!"

We sat on the worn-out but comfy sofa in my living room, watching the news reporter trying to explain the resurrections of random people in the area. The kid was munching on potato chips happily.

"Why ain't you living with your sis?" I asked. "She's perfectly capable of taking care of you."

"That is true," nodded Maria. "But Onee-chan has Haruka-senpai to keep her company. When you told me about how you haven't seen any of the other club members after all this time, I felt pretty bad for you. You need company, and that's why I'm sticking with you! Don't worry, I'll eat whatever you give me, as long as it's edible. And the only clothing you need to worry about is my St. Chronica's Academy uniform. I have my other clothes with me."

"Actually," I said. "I stashed away my old uniform in my closet. I think it'll fit you."

"Really!?" she squealed. "Alright! Tomorrow's gonna be the best!"

She kept talking about how she was going to enjoy making friends and learning new things, something that I never even cared about when I was in high school. But seeing her this excited gave me a sense of amusement.

And from that moment onward, everything changed.


End file.
